Posted: 8 years ago
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I don't have cones, but I usually have 3-bottles of windshield wash with me that I use as cones.
They work just as well, without adding more stuff to the side box.
Posted: 8 years ago
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When I have to go to the terminal for repairs I usually get a 34 reset then head out with a big load. But my repairs are few and far between, and I have never been denied any maintenance requests. If this is a regular occurrence and the equipment is not properly maintained I can understand. However I also know driver who put the truck in the shop for every little thing instead of waiting and making a list. If my QC speakers don't work, so what. But I know someone who went back to the terminal for this. Another will stop in the middle of a load for a PM as soon as he gets the maintenance reminder...whether or not it will make him late for the customer.
For the truck it depends on what it is.
Something little I wait until there's a bigger issue then have it ask done at once.
I took my truck in last week for a PM, short in the right headlight, driver door not opening, air leak, and exhaust recall. The headlight is what made me being it in... The door was just a pain, the air leak wasn't major, the pm and recall could have waited.
Before that it was because the truck wouldn't shut off. Held the key in my hand and the damn thing kept on going for 45 mins. Then it kept doing it.
Before that I got towed in because going from stop to go the truck jumped 3-5 feet each time (can't have a student drive that).
Before that all my dash lights went out, couldn't drive at night cuz I couldn't see any of my gauges.
Before that we were down for a week with a stop engine light.... Something with the def system.
Posted: 8 years ago
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This is my second carrier, looking for my 3rd. The first one I was with for 2 months, this one over a year. Before trucking I was with my last company for 9 years. I want to find a company that I can be with long term. But this one isn't it.
Let me elaborate a little bit on my issues.
Repair: I'm out 5-6 days a week and home on weekends for my 34. I run the rails in Chicago, so I'm stuck pulling containers owned by the rail companies. A common run for me is Chicago to Green Bay and back. I don't know if you're familiar with green bay, but there is no national repair center, truck stop, or 24 hr shop (that we work with anyway) in the area. If I make that run 5 times in a week I am literally in repair 3-4 times. Several rivited lights out, air leaks, tires are the most common issues, but not the only ones.
If I get there to pick up after 19:00 (which i always do) I get sent to the shop that's closed until 06:00. That's half my clock for the day lost for half the days of my week. I'm literally losing hundreds of miles a week.
I have random repair needs when I pull van and reefer but that's once out of 10-20 loads. I can deal with those.
I looked for other accounts in my area but the rate is 13-18 cpm less than what I'm making now, with less home time.
Payroll deductions: yes it was, and no it wasn't explained that deductions would be made.
It was explained that when we put a student in a hotel we have to send the hotel macro, get approval, then submit the receipt. If those things are done then I should not have deductions. What was not explained is that if one of four different departments don't do their part, those charges are also deducted from me.
When the problem first started I had a call with the powers that be, and the breakdown was identified and supposedly corrected. Its happening again the last few weeks. This time fingers are getting pointed and each week more money is taken from me. I won't see that money until the fingers stop getting pointed and the problem is identified.
As far as the student staying in the truck, its against policy. I could lose my trainer status if a student complains.
Posted: 8 years ago
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I've been a trainer now for 6 months or so, and I wanted to toss some info out for the new drivers, on trainers.
When I first got out of school o went to a company, waited days for a trainer and was relieved when I finally got assigned to one. I trained with him for 140 hours, he was horrible! Spent most of his time in the sleeper, he was always cranky, rude, and just overall not a pleasant person. I wanted so badly to be done with training and 4 weeks or so later I was finally done.
I left the company shortly after (with a lot of help and advice from the people here). I didn't have enough time out of the trainers truck to be considered a qualified driver at the new company, so had to go back through another 140 hours. I was not at all amused, but decided it was the best option.
My trainer with the new company was nothing like my first trainer. He was awake, engaged, knowledgeable, and took pride in his job as a trainer. I learned more in a few days with trainer 2 than I learned in a month with trainer 1.
I've heard stories from students that get in my truck, walking through our terminals, and online. 98% of trainers will get you to the point where you can pass your test and become a solo driver. But my job as a trainer isn't to get you to the point of passing a test, its to prepare you for life on the road. There are a lot of good trainers out there that understand this, but there are too many who just want the extra miles they get from you driving.
Sure I have to teach you all the day to day stuff, but life on the road is unpredictable. You will run into problems, and if all you know is how to pass a test those problems are going to be worse on you than what they need to be. Where if you get exposed yo some of those things during training you'll have base information to use in solving the problems you come across.
If you feel that your trainer is disinterested in you or your progress, if they spend most of their time in the sleeper (especially the first week or 2), or of they're having you do things that are unsafe or illegal, CALL YOUR COMPANY, request a new trainer. You wouldn't be the first or last student who has requested a new trainer.
All that said, training is tough. But once you get through it, its done.
Good luck new drivers!
Posted: 8 years ago
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I vape and so does my current student. We get film similar to a smoker on the window, but never had the issue you describe.
Posted: 8 years ago
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I've been driving for a mega carriers for almost a year and a half, my current company for just over a year. Issues with sitting for repair and having my student's hotel costs during my home time deducted from my pay have lead me to look at other options.
I've gone so far as to work with director level people at my company to address my issues, they get better for a couple weeks then its right back to the same problems. So it's time.
I enjoy being a trainer, I think I'm good at it, my students seem to learn what they need to, and in still in contact with many of them. So I've been looking at companies where after a time I can start training again. I've talked to recruiters from a dozen different companies over the past few weeks.
I'm at a loss for words on the quality differences in recruiters in this industry. On one side you have some companies whose recruiters come off as though you're bothering them, on the other side I have a recruiter calling me back from his cell at 20:00 from home, because that's when I was available.
I've pretty much narrowed the field down to Roehl and Wil Trans.
I'm wondering if anyone had first hand knowledge of either company, that can shed done light on things like: miles, how drivers are treated, promises vs reality, etc.
The company I choose will be my third, and I'd like to be there for years, not months.
Thanks guys and gals
Posted: 8 years ago
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I went through 160, their location in peoria. I can't speak for every location they have, but I was overall pretty happy. I looked at a bunch of schools in illinois, private schools, community colleges, and company schools.
The instructors make a fun environment, while getting the job done the right way. I still talk to my instructor and I know I'm not his only former student he keeps in contact with.
I can also tell you that now, as a trainer, there's a lot of small bits of information that schools take for granted. Things like how many pounds are in a ton, what to do when a deer jumps out in front of you, how to fix jumping the 5th wheel... Most of my students didn't know anything about those things before we talked about them. These are all things we talked about at 160.
I have no issue recommending them to you.
Posted: 8 years ago
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Looking for a great GPS $400-$500
I've had the rand tnd 730 for almost a year and a half, no issues with it.
Posted: 8 years ago
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Advice on company trainers
When I get a new student fresh out school, I like to practice backing in wide open areas first. This is when I use the windshield wash to mark the spot I want them in. After that I don't bring then out, and I don't let then back in wide open areas. I'm out of the truck and they're backing next to trucks or trailers.
It usually comes with a warning (in a fun tone) about not running over my bottles.
It seems to help them focus on the spot they should be going into instead of one if the others next to it.
But I agree with what the others have said, talk life training experience is better than bottles or cones.... After some initial practice.